CBS' new summer event series Extant started out fairly strong on Wednesday in the ratings, pulling in a large overall audience.

The Halle Berry-lead science fiction premiere averaged 9.2 million viewers according to preliminary Nielsen numbers, meaning that when DVR numbers are eventually included, the numbers could be pushed higher.

While the overall audience was strong, the advertiser-important demographic number was less impressive, pulling in only a 1.7 rating among adults 18-49. In adults 25-54, the number is a little better, with a 2.4 rating.

Still the debut episode attracted enough interest to make Extant the top new scripted summer program in both overall viewership and in the two demos and definitely blows CBS' reality competition show Big Brother's 6.11 million viewers out of the water.

Extant's demo 18-49 demo rating is in line with the Monday's episode of CBS' other main scripted summer fare, Under The Dome, which drew an identical 1.7 rating.

While the series' first season was a success, the second season has started off rocky, with the drama premiering down to a 2.2 rating, before slipping further for the second episode.

image courtesy of INFphoto.com